Lightvessel
Lightvessel, wall-mounted sculpture, Duratrans, etched Plexiglas, LED, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, 2021.
Lightvessel is a series of wall-mounted illuminated sculptures built from macro photographs of natural forms in states of decay and transformation. Photographed at close range in the forests around Weimar, these studies of moss and lichen reveal both the beauty and the strangeness of the natural world.
Developed at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, Lightvessel was presented as the final project for my Master's degree in Mediengestaltung (Media Art & Design). Each sculpture combines archival Duratrans film and laser-etched Plexiglas, lit from within by low-energy LED light, and is paired with a corresponding one-of-one digital twin on the Ethereum blockchain. The series was conceived as an edition of up to 100 unique works.
Choose the edition, face acrylic, frame finish and artwork in an interactive 3D preview.
Each Lightvessel is a handmade, wall-mounted vessel built from layered acrylic, archival Duratrans film, brushed aluminum, and low-energy LED light. A macro photograph, composited from dozens of individual exposures into a single hyper-detailed image, is printed on backlit film and set behind a pane of laser-etched Plexiglas. When illuminated, the engraving fills with light and the image separates into foreground, shadow, and glow, echoing the depth of a forest floor in low sun. The work is an invitation to slow down. Drawing on the historical lightvessel, a ship moored as a floating lighthouse to guide others safely through darkness, each vessel holds a small, illuminated fragment of the natural world: moss and lichen at the edge of decay, photographed on fallen branches gathered on walks near Weimar.
This first piece centers on sunburst lichen and pale crustose growth spreading across weathered bark, with a dark crevice cutting diagonally through the frame.
Lightvessel No. 001, “Genesis”
Brian Bixby, 2021
Macro photograph on Duratrans film, laser-etched Plexiglas, diffusion acrylic, brushed aluminum, oak frame, LED illumination
80 × 80 × 5 cm
Unique work, No. 1 of a series of up to 100
Lightvessel was featured on the EXPERIMENT.Bauhaus Project Showcase of the Bauhaus University in 2021.
Artist Spotlight Interview with KnownOrigin.